Habeas Corpus

Let the mind and body be free from scorn

Habeas Corpus

 

On the stand

hot lights, quizzicle looks

how did I get here

I have always been honest and true.

 

The door of the courtroom

I can see it past the somewhat familiar faces in the crowd

but I can't seem to leave the stand

make it pass the bar

lest the prosecutor requests

more and more information, more and more questions.

 

The jailor has the door open

I see daylight that makes the people fade out

I look around the room

the judge, the jury, they look like the prosecutor,

is this a dream ?

 

Only here do the guiltless feel guilty

forces himself to stay in the chair,

enlightenment slowly comes in from the light their are no laws here

no moral dictate that holds

no character flaws glue me to this seat.

 

I run, I jump the bar

the old laws are left behind

with that leap

the prosecutor turns,

"I have more questions for you",

she shouts for more answers.

 

Closer to the door

the courtroom walls begin to dissolve,

the judge, the jurors meld with the prosecutor,

my feet lift higher with each step

yet I hear more questions from behind.

 

"Stop, I'm not done with you", says the prosecutor, judge and jury,

in one voice "come back here,

tell me the truth again

so I can dissect it,

prove you wrong

show you the real you,

I know you best so get back here and listen".

Courtroom walls now fallen

Make way for the light that is gorgeous, illumination,

it reflects the blue of the sky

now below my feet.

 

I know now, I owe the prosecutor no more,

no more answers, no more opportunities

for scorn and belittlement

no more helping the other side find their rationale.

 

I have done my duty; I have put in my time

I know who I am, who I have always known,

I don't owe another hard earned moment to the ledger

of a prosecutors self-proclaimed debt.

 

I am done, I am free,

knowing I was free all along

but will I know next time

to not allow the illusion to be built around me,

only time will tell but for now,

my mind and body are no more the ward of the prosecutor.